| Tony Gardner | |
| Birth Name: | Tony Gardner |
| Birth Date: | 1964 1, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England |
| Occupation: | Actor, Doctor, Comedian |
| Spouse: | Kate Gardner |
| Children: | 2 |
Tony Gardner (born 10 January 1964) is an English actor and doctor. He sits on the national governing body of the actors' trade union Equity.[1]
He attended St Augustine's Catholic College in Trowbridge.
Gardner qualified as a physician at Guy's Hospital in 1987, then as a general practitioner in 1993. He combined medicine and comedy during the 1990s as half of the award-winning comedy duo Struck Off and Die with Phil Hammond.
Gardner eventually left medicine to become an actor, starring in a number of TV commercials, including that for the Renault Mégane. He reached prominence playing Brian Johnson in CITV's My Parents Are Aliens (episodes of which he also wrote) and Michael, the café owner in Jack Dee's BBC sitcom Lead Balloon. In 2009–10 he starred in three plays directed by Sir Peter Hall. In 2011 he played Professor Tony Shales in the Channel 4 series Fresh Meat.
Between 2012 and 2020, he played John in five series of the critically acclaimed romantic drama series Last Tango in Halifax. The programme attracted impressive ratings for BBC One, with the third series posting an average of 7.8 million viewers.[2]
Between 2013 and 2015, he appeared as Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Smith in three series of the wartime comedy Bluestone 42, about a British bomb disposal detachment in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick. He appeared as Dan Miller MP in the BBC political comedy The Thick of It. He was a main character of the music video "Giant Peach" by Wolf Alice.[3] He appeared in a variety of roles in Tracey Ullman's Show from 2016. He also appeared in an episode of the Netflix show, Lovesick, portraying Dylan’s father at surprise wedding anniversary party.
In January 2021, Gardner appeared in S11E1 of Not Going Out as a neighbour to Lee and Lucy.[4] He then appeared again in S12E4 in 2022.
| + Filmography | ||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | McDonald's | A Numismatist | ||
| 1994 | Joking Apart | |||
| 1995 | Now What? | Writer | ||
| 1995 | You Bet! | Sherlock Holmes | Series 8, Episode 6 | |
| 1997 | Sunnyside Farm | Justin | ||
| 1997 | Grown Ups | |||
| 1997 | Armstrong and Miller | Writer | ||
| 1999–2006 | My Parents Are Aliens | Brian Johnson | Writer and Cast Member | |
| 2000–2006 | Absolute Power | |||
| 2001 | So What Now? | Dan | Episode: Swinger | |
| 2001 | Lenny Henry in Pieces | |||
| 2001 | The Armando Iannucci Shows | |||
| 2004 | The Lenny Henry Show | |||
| 2005–2012 | The Thick of It | Dan Miller | ||
| 2006 | Bremner, Bird and Fortune | |||
| 2006–2011 | Lead Balloon | Michael | Series regular | |
| 2007 | Jekyll | David | Series 1, Episode 4 | |
| 2007 | Dumped | Narrator | Voice | |
| 2007 | His Master's Voice | |||
| 2008 | Love Soup | Matthew | Episode: Ragged Claws | |
| 2009 | May Contain Nuts | Philip Russell | TV movie | |
| 2009 | Moving Wallpaper | George | Series 2, Episode 4 | |
| 2010 | M.I. High | Prime Minister | episode: Vote Skul | |
| 2011–2016 | Fresh Meat | Professor Tony Shales | 13 episodes | |
| 2012–2020 | Last Tango in Halifax | John | Series regular | |
| 2012 | Cockneys vs Zombies | Clive | ||
| 2012 | New Tricks | Lucas Graves | episode: Old School Ties | |
| 2012 | Gates | Aiden | ||
| 2013 | The Escape Artist | Trevor Harris | TV-Mini Series | |
| 2013 | Big Bad World | Dr. Tim | Series 1, Episode 6 | |
| 2013–2015 | Bluestone 42 | Lieutenant Colonel Smith | ||
| 2014 | Plebs | Philo | Series 2, Episode 6 | |
| 2014 | Douglas Stone | Episode: Repeat to Fade | ||
| 2016 | Young Hyacinth | Claude | TV | |
| 2016 | Stella | Ivan Schloss | ||
| 2016–2017 | Tracey Ullman's Show | Various | ||
| 2017–2018 | Tracey Breaks the News | Various | ||
| 2017 | Doctor Who | Douglas | "The Pyramid at the End of the World" (Series 10, Episode 7) | |
| 2017 | Death in Paradise | Ian Matlock | 1 episode | |
| 2017 | Unforgotten | James Moray | 3 episodes | |
| 2017 | Back | Nick Molloy | Series 1, Episode 1 | |
| 2018 | Death on the Tyne | Justin | ||
| 2018 | Lovesick | Julian | ||
| 2018 | Innocent | Detective Superintendent Hillman | ITV mini-series in four parts | |
| 2019 | Midsomer Murders | Russell Grundy | "The Ghost of Causton Abbey" (Series 20, Episode 1) | |
| 2019 | Antonius | |||
| 2021-2022 | Not Going Out | Stuart | Lee and Lucy's neighbour |